The agency has also assigned PetroVietnam a senior unsecured rating of 'BB' and standalone credit profile (SCP) at 'bb+', reflecting the company's high degree of integration, diversification and conservative financial profile.

A worker of PetroVietnam. (Photo for illustration)

In the statement, Fitch highlights the robust State linkages with PetroVietnam. PetroVietnam's annual targets are set and approved by Vietnamese Government and its management is State-appointed. PetroVietnam is also Vietnam's national oil company and benefits from exclusive rights to the country’s oil and gas reserves by regulation. Fitch regards the support record as 'Strong'.

Fitch assesses the socio-political implications of a PetroVietnam default as 'Very Strong'. Any disruptions in PetroVietnam's operations would have material implications for the entire energy value chain in Vietnam.

PetroVietnam General Director Le Manh Hung said the ratings will serve as a foundation for the group to review and improve its corporate administration in the coming time, especially financial targets.

Nirukt Sapru, Standard Chartered Bank’s Chief Executive Officer of the Vietnam, ASEAN, and South Asia Cluster Markets, said the ratings assigned to PetroVietnam will help the company attract more foreign investors, pledging that Standard Chartered will support PetroVietnam to realise its growth targets.

PetroVietnam holds interests in all of Vietnam's upstream oil and gas assets, accounts for about a third of the country's refined product output, and supplies gas for power plants which make up about 15 percent of the country's power generation. PetroVietnam also accounts for about 80 percent of Vietnam's fertiliser production.

PetroVietnam's investment is projected to rise significantly to 321 trillion VND (13.95 billion USD) over the next five years, from 38 trillion VND last year. PetroVietnam estimates over half of its expected consolidated capex and investment will be used to develop its upstream resources, mainly gas fields.